Executive Influence: Increasing Your Impact with Persuasion and Power

The Wharton School

Leadership and Management

About Programme

Career success does not happen in a vacuum. It’s tempting for executives to assume that they need only be smart, hardworking, and creative for achievement and recognition to naturally follow. Instead, research shows that even the most brilliant executives must also possess the skills to influence people. The last mile in getting anything done is convincing others to go along, and mastering this ability is required long before reaching the top of the ladder.

Executive Influence: Increasing Your Impact with Persuasion and Power will greatly expand your range of power and influence skills, helping you deploy them with confidence and integrity. Discover a broad toolbox of methods and techniques, including specific ways to apply them. Personal assessments and a capstone project help you — and the Wharton faculty — evaluate and reflect on your progress. Practical, personal, and deeply experiential, Executive Influence: Increasing Your Impact with Persuasion and Power is a transformational program that will give you a new level of control over your career and beyond. Through it, you will internalize powerful capabilities you can use for a lifetime.

Programme Content

Academic Director Cade Massey grounds this powerful, highly interactive program in more than 20 years of teaching award-winning MBA and executive MBA courses on negotiation, influence, and organizational behavior. You will benefit from the insights of a multidisciplinary faculty from management; health care management; marketing; and operations, information, and decision making.

To maximize potential participants’ growth, this program is designed as an in-person workshop, with several experiential exercises built in to complement the learning and provide runway to explore and experiment with new techniques. Assessments are expertly administered in conjunction with Wharton People Lab , which advances the science of individual development through data-driven insights.

Executive Influence: Increasing Your Impact with Persuasion and Power includes a capstone exercise in which you will lead and utilize coalitions, deploying your full toolbox of influence skills. Finally, the closing “Make It Your Own” action-planning exercise helps you immediately apply what you have learned during the week to your workplace and personal life.

Session topics include:

Foundations of Power

Networks

Influence and Integrity

Organizational Politics

Structural Power

Effective Might

Persuasion

Coalitions

Your Personal Influence Tactics Assessment

Programme Audience

Executive Influence: Increasing Your Impact with Persuasion and Power is designed for mid- to senior-career executives, particularly:

Executives taking on increased responsibilities, possibly outside of their areas of expertise and experience

Executives transitioning from individual contributor to a broader role such as manager

Mid-tier executives, such as product managers, who have more responsibility than they do official authority

Executives from underrepresented groups who may face special challenges around persuasion and influence

Individuals who run business groups, such as physicians in charge of group practices

Managers in government, health care, international agencies, and nonprofit groups

Other individuals needing to exercise influence without the benefit of an organizational hierarchy

Seasoned executives working to deepen their leadership skills

Fluency in English, written and spoken, is required for participation in Wharton Executive Education programs unless otherwise indicated.

This program is held at the Steinberg Conference Center located on the University of Pennsylvania campus in Philadelphia. Meals and accommodations are included in the program fees. Learn more about planning your stay at Wharton’s Philadelphia campus .

To further leverage the value and impact of this program, we encourage companies to send cross-functional teams of executives to Wharton. We offer group-enrollment benefits to companies sending four or more participants.

Programme Benefits

Leverage an extensive toolkit to build vital skills like persuasion, networks, and coalitions

Receive a personal assessment to discover your areas for improvement

Recognize and gain confidence with the influence tools you already possess

Learn how to sway others to your point of view regardless of the reporting structure

Enter business negotiations better equipped to achieve your goals

Recognize the situational and environmental factors that constrain and convey power

Better understand the ethics behind deploying power

Deepen your understanding of the role of might and how you can use it more effectively

Better appreciate the necessity of organizational politics, and develop the ability to engage them with integrity

Begin the critical work of embedding these learnings in your life at home and work

Testimonials

"As I took on greater responsibilities at my company, I knew strengthening my influence was crucial. A professional development coach recommended two courses — Wharton’s immersive, hands-on approach made it the clear choice, offering real-world application and a dynamic learning experience. The true value of this program lies in recognizing your diverse influence tools and practicing how to apply them. This isn’t just theory — you’ll reflect, identify ways to amplify your influence, and leave with an action plan to make an immediate impact. I was surprised by how quickly our diverse, highly accomplished cohort became a supportive learning community. We shared experiences, challenged one another, and refined our skills. I met amazing people who I know I can reach out to in the future. Experiential learning is the magic of this program. I didn’t just learn persuasion techniques — I applied them in a pitch competition. I didn’t just study coalitions — I built one in a mock negotiation. Reflecting on these experiences deepened my understanding of how to influence more effectively. Now, I start each workday with 10 minutes of influence planning and end it with 10 minutes of reflection. This intentional approach has transformed influence from a passive to an active practice, and I’m already seeing more effective outcomes in my daily interactions."

Heather Farber

Chief Marketing Officer, Epic Research

"This program was truly transformative for me. As someone who predominantly relied on logical reasoning, I appreciated the opportunity to explore the value of emotions and vulnerability. Even in the corporate world, humility and openness matter. The program equipped me with a broader toolkit, instilling confidence to tackle any challenge while maintaining honesty and ethical standards. What surprised me most about the experience was the highly engaging and interactive setting. Unlike traditional lecture-driven programs, this one encouraged open discussions, practical application of new concepts, and active participation. The unique teamwork feeling’ among all participants made it truly memorable. I wholeheartedly endorse this program for anyone poised to embark on a journey of personal and professional growth. Undoubtedly, it offers valuable self-awareness and equips you with tools to confront any challenge that requires a full expression of your human capabilities. In an era where AI increasingly handles repetitive tasks, our unwavering commitment to evolving as integral leaders should be our ultimate aspiration."

Denitsa Balunis

SVP Corporate Strategy and Corporate Development, Edelman Financial Engines

"I was searching for a program to enhance my leadership, focusing on influence and power. This program ticked all the boxes in terms of areas of interest and practical assessment of my own skills. Its engaging nature of delivery and the new relationships and networks created with other members of the group were invaluable. I particularly enjoyed the pitch competition and the capstone exercise. The experience of working in that environment helped to challenge us and our own thinking and to reflect on how we interacted. It was a truly memorable way to learn. Post-program, I was able to immediately identify where I could enhance my leadership, professional, and personal practices using the discussions and activities during the course. The program provides time to produce an action plan, which I now revisit regularly. Ive returned more focused on building relationships and using power in the right places, and with greater confidence and self-awareness of myself as a leader. Id highly recommend this program to anyone, especially women in executive roles."

Santiago Londono

CEO, Cirion Technologies

"undefined"

Madelaine Sandall

General Manager, College Operations, RMIT University, College of Business & Law, Melbourne, Australia

Testimonial Source

Other programs in this subject area you might find useful

Same topic, Similar duration - Broader exploration across all institutes

Contact us for the further details

Speak with an Advisor

Pedagogy (case method, experiential learning, coaching, simulations)
Programme Objective
Brochure

Prashansa Uttam

Programme Advisor

+91 9403890085[email protected]Mon – Fri, 9am – 5pm IST

The Wharton School

Executive Education Office

tel:12158981776

mailto:[email protected]

https://www.wharton.upenn.edu

Philadelphia, USA

Tell us about your program enquiry

Fill out the form below and our team will get back to you within 24 hours.